Preparation for disturbance-induced absconding of Cape honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera capensis Esch.)

African honeybees, Apis mellifera, are characterised by frequent disturbance-induced absconding. However, the effectiveness in preparation before such disturbance-induced absconding has not been rigorously quantified yet. We investigated the effectiveness of preparation for disturbance-induced absconding by evaluating colony phenotypes prior to and after absconding in ten colonies of the Cape honeybee, A. m. capensis. Seven non-absconding colonies at the same apiary were used as controls. While seven absconded colonies left neither stores nor brood behind, three colonies abandoned only a small area of honey, pollen, open or capped brood. At the end of the observations, the control colonies still had pollen and honey stores and brood. The mean reduction rate between a major disturbance and the absconding event was 0.052 ± 0.018 cm² stores and open brood per worker per day. Our results demonstrate that disturbance-induced absconding can also occur with preparation, if the disturbance is not highly destructive and enough time for preparation is available. We conclude that Cape honeybee colonies can show a considerable high effectiveness in their preparation before disturbance-induced absconding, which limits the loss of colony resources. In light of the general high mobility of African honeybee colonies such an efficient behaviour is probably adaptive. Received 22 December 2004; revised 3 June 2005; accepted 13 June 2005.